Page 36 of Bad to the Bone
Chapter Eighteen
ONthe dance floor, Alex raised his hands tentatively, not sure which of them should take the lead.
Ricky Lee clasped Alex’s right hand in his left and tugged him closer. “Let me lead this time. You can have the next dance.”
Alex rested his left hand in the small of Ricky Lee’s back and let him guide their steps as the music flowed around them in a sensuous haze. Ricky Lee drew Alex closer, resting his smooth cheek against Alex’s. Alex hadn’t taken time to shave when he showered, since with his light hair he seldom showed much of a five-o’clock shadow, but he realized despite his darker coloring, he’d never seen Ricky Lee with one either—probably an effect of his Native heritage.
“I’m not up on the big-band sound, but I think I recognize this song,” Ricky Lee murmured in his ear, the caress of warm air making Alex shiver.
“‘Moonlight Serenade,’” he answered after taking a breath. “It was Glenn Miller’s theme song. My grandfather was a huge fan of thirties and forties music. He had all the big bands on vinyl.”
“It’s seduction set to music, isn’t it?”
Alex didn’t think Ricky Lee needed any musical assistance in that department; with just the brush of their bodies as he moved them around the other dancers, he already had Alex aroused. Alex hummed an agreement and shifted slightly so his eagerness wasn’t quite as obvious. When the music ended, Ricky Lee stepped back just far enough to switch hand positions so Alex could take the lead. To his relief the next song was the more upbeat “String of Pearls,” which let him keep a bit of distance between them as he maneuvered through the slightly faster steps, Ricky Lee following him seamlessly.
When the band’s drummer broke into the percussive introduction to “Sing, Sing, Sing,” Alex nodded toward their table. “I don’t know about you, but this one is a bit above my swing dance skills.”
“And we don’t want our coffee to get cold.”
Ricky Lee followed Alex back to their table, where they watched some truly expert dancers, including the female couple Alex had noticed earlier, jump and jive around the floor. At the end of the song, they broke into applause along with most of the other diners in appreciation of both the dancers’ and the musicians’ skills.
They remained through several sets, talking easily about music, movies, and books in between dances. Alex’s efforts to keep a discreet space between them waned as the night wore on. They weren’t the only couple who held each other a little closer, arms moving from waists to shoulders, hips rocking closer and thighs brushing as they swayed to the romantic melodies.
“We need to head back to the hotel.” Ricky Lee’s lips brushed Alex’s ear as “Stardust” ended, and Alex had to draw in a deep breath to keep from turning his head to catch the whisper-light kiss with his mouth. He nodded, and Ricky Lee all but pulled him back to the table.
The wait to settle their bill seemed interminable, though in reality it took only a few minutes for Denis to bring the check. Ricky Lee tucked several large bills into the leather folder and took Alex’s hand to lead him outside.
The temperature had dropped while they were in the club, but the chill night air did nothing to cool Alex’s arousal. Ricky Lee kept their fingers threaded together as they walked back to the hotel, close enough to brush against each other with every step, deepening the sultry mood woven by their dancing.
“That was a lovely surprise. Thank you,” Alex said when they reached the hotel and were riding the elevator up to their floor.
“I may have another one or two up my sleeve.” The instant the door to their room closed behind them, Ricky Lee drew Alex into a kiss that stole the breath from his lungs. “You have no idea how hard it was to keep from doing that to you in the middle of the dance floor,” he growled when he let Alex up for air.
“I wouldn’t have stopped you,” Alex confessed.
“Now you tell me. I thought you didn’t like public displays of affection.” Ricky Lee freed Alex from his suit jacket and tossed it on one of the chairs before pressing a string of kisses down his neck.
“I used to believe in discretion, but you can make me forget my own name.” Alex angled his head to give Ricky Lee better access and reached up to loosen his tie.
Ricky Lee tugged his hand away. “I told you, I want to take you out of this suit.” He unknotted Alex’s tie and slipped open the first few buttons of his shirt, then pulled the tie free of his collar. “Put your hands in the air.”
His head swimming from the kiss Ricky Lee punctuated his words with, it didn’t occur to Alex to wonder why Ricky Lee wanted to pull his shirt over his head rather than unfastening the rest of the buttons—he just did as he was told. Before he could blink, Ricky Lee looped the tie around his wrists and knotted it. “Go sit on the bed, Alex.”
Stunned into immobility, Alex tried to wrench his arms apart, but the knot held tight. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Go sit on the bed,” Ricky Lee repeated, giving Alex a gentle push until he dropped onto the thickly padded mattress. Before Alex could open his mouth to speak, Ricky Lee nudged him onto his back and leaned over him, the warmth of his firm body as drugging as his kiss.
“You don’t have to tie me up to do that,” Alex said when Ricky Lee rose up on an elbow to unbutton the rest of his shirt. “I wasn’t planning to stop you.”
Ricky Lee ran an admiring palm down Alex’s chest. Then he caught him beneath the arms and centered him on the bed. “The first time we were together, I didn’t have a chance to do more than kiss you. I’m not running that risk again.” He ran the long end of the tie around the light fixture at the top of the padded headboard and secured it with another knot.
Alex gave an experimental tug, even though the idea of lying there letting Ricky Lee have his way with him made his cock jump—something Ricky Lee, who had Alex’s lower half pinned with his own body, could undoubtedly feel. “I happen to like this tie,” he said with a smile in his voice. “And I don’t have all that many of them.”
“Don’t struggle and you might be able to salvage it.” The crease around Ricky Lee’s eyes told Alex they both knew he could free himself with a single strong yank, though he might take the reading light with him. Ricky Lee rocked his hips, letting Alex feel the strength of his own arousal. “Let me give to you this time.”
What could he say to that? The only possible answer was “Yes.”
“Smart man.” Ricky Lee rewarded Alex with another kiss, then rose to his knees and crawled to the foot of the bed. “Shoes on the bedspread—your mother would be horrified.” He slid them off, letting them fall to the floor, then peeled off Alex’s socks and let them follow.
